Central Asia | Asian History Books

Afghanistan Revealed: Beyond the Headlines

March 22, 2015

Afghanistan Revealed offers the reader an incisive view into a country that has held the world’s attention for more than a decade. Hardly a day goes by without Afghanistan making news in the media – but behind the headlines, what do we really know about this complex and enigmatic country, its people, its culture and […]
Retreat and Retribution in Afghanistan, 1842: Two Journals of the First Afghan War

March 22, 2015

The blow to British pride and confidence caused by the crushing defeat of their army in Afghanistan during the winter of 1841/2 compares in its impact to the disaster in New York on 11 September 2001. The British had replaced a popular and effective monarch with a weak one in the mistaken belief that he […]
Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia’s Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane

March 22, 2015

In this sweeping and richly illustrated history, S. Frederick Starr tells the fascinating but largely unknown story of Central Asia’s medieval enlightenment through the eventful lives and astonishing accomplishments of its greatest minds–remarkable figures who built a bridge to the modern world. Because nearly all of these figures wrote in Arabic, they were long assumed […]
Inside Central Asia: A Political and Cultural History of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz stan, Tajikistan, Turkey, and Iran

March 22, 2015

From a critically acclaimed author-a comprehensive history of the part of the world currently making headlines The former Soviet republics of Central Asia comprise a sprawling, politically pivotal, densely populated, and richly cultured area of the world that is nonetheless poorly represented in libraries and mainstream media. Since their political incorporation in Stalin’s Soviet era, […]
The Modern Uzbeks: From the Fourteenth Century to the Present: A Cultural History (Studies of Nationalities)

March 22, 2015

In this study of the modern Uzbeks, Professor Edward A. Allworth provides a comprehensive and authoritative survey of an important group of Muslim people who live within the boundaries of the Soviet Union. After the Russians and the Ukranians, the Uzbeks are the largest ethnic group in the Soviet Union and the strongest of a […]
Everyday Life in Central Asia: Past and Present

March 22, 2015

For its citizens, contemporary Central Asia is a land of great promise and peril. While the end of Soviet rule has opened new opportunities for social mobility and cultural expression, political and economic dynamics have also imposed severe hardships. In this lively volume, contributors from a variety of disciplines examine how ordinary Central Asians lead […]
After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan

March 22, 2015

In October 2001, the Bush administration sent Amb. James F. Dobbins, who had overseen nation-building efforts in Somalia, Haiti, Bosnia, and Kosovo, to war-torn Afghanistan to help the Afghans assemble a successor government to the Taliban. From warlords to exiled royalty, from turbaned tribal chieftains to elegant émigré intellectuals, Ambassador Dobbins introduces a range of […]
The Tale of Genji: Translation, Canonization, and World Literature

March 22, 2015

Michael Emmerich thoroughly revises the conventional narrative of the early modern and modern history of The Tale of Genji. Exploring iterations of the work from the 1830s to the 1950s, he demonstrates how translations and the global circulation of discourse they inspired turned The Tale of Genji into a widely read classic, reframing our understanding […]
Afghanistan Cave Complexes 1979-2004: "Mountain strongholds of the Mujahideen, Taliban & Al Qaeda" (Fortress)

March 22, 2015

Following the Soviet invasion in 1979, the Mujahideen defenders of Afghanistan developed and reinforced many natural cave systems to use as supply bases and defensive positions. The Taliban and Al Qaeda further strengthened these positions in the 1990s. Following the events of September 11, 2001, these cave systems have once more come to prominence and […]
Chinese Literature: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions)

March 22, 2015

Perhaps nowhere else has literature been as conscious a collective endeavor as in China, and China’s survival over three thousand years may owe more to its literary traditions than to its political history. This Very Short Introduction tells the story of Chinese literature from antiquity to the present, focusing on the key role literary culture […]

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